With spy software, customers of the Israeli company NSO were able to eavesdrop on smartphones and even access the camera and microphone. Now the former NSA employee Edward Snowden has commented on the revelations – and found clear words.
The revelations are terrifying. With the specialized malware Pegasus, the Israeli security company NSO can provide its customers with unnoticed access to iPhones and Android smartphones, including cameras, chats and the location – without those affected noticing anything. Now the former NSA employee and whistleblower Edward Snowden has commented on the sniffing program in an interview.
In an interview with the British “Guardian”, the former secret service agent finds clear words. “What the Pegasus Project revealed is that the only product these companies have is the ability to infect computers,” explains the visibly angry Snowden. “These are not safety products, they offer no protection, they offer no prophylaxis. They do not produce a vaccine – they sell the virus.”
Espionage as a business area
This is not just about the NSO Group, whose software Pegasus is working through the current revelations. “It’s everywhere, it’s a whole industry. The NSO Group is just the best-known company, but it’s just one company among many.” In addition to the NSO Group, the services of Celebrite, also from Israel, are used to read the content of locked iPhones.
Snowden does not want to accept the argument that the espionage services are aimed primarily at authorities. “The fact that they claim to only sell the programs to government agencies doesn’t make things any better when you look at who’s going to be targeted,” says Snowden. In addition to politicians and business giants, numerous political activists and journalists were found in a leaked list of 50,000 telephone numbers that customers had requested from the NSO Group to monitor.
Worse than expected
In the past, Snowden called smartphones a “spy in your pocket”. When asked whether the current case proves this again, he reacts surprisingly: “I think it’s actually even worse. When you talk about a spy in your pocket, it’s about the possibility. For example, the ability of the device to turn itself into Log in to cellular networks or save our location so that Facebook can sniff us out, “he explains. “But these are by and large commercial applications. Now we are seeing an industry based on hacking these phones – and spying even more than they were before. You can take full control of the device . ”
This also has an impact on the security of the devices themselves. “They’re ultimately clones. If I can hack an iPhone, I can hack them all. And that’s exactly what they’re doing, that’s what they’re selling,” explains Snowden. “It’s a knowledgeable, deliberate attack on the critical infrastructure that each of us must rely on.”
“You are on the list”
According to the expert, nobody should feel safe in doing so. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do,” Snowden is sure. “Whether you’re a minister or a prime minister, you’re on the list. Constitutional judges, also on the list. A perfectly normal person, it doesn’t matter. You just have to get the attention of someone who has enough money to run these companies Pay to crack your smartphone. ”
No wonder Snowden is calling for an end to the espionage industry. Snowden is certain that if no one stopped them, 50,000 victims would quickly become 50 million and more. “We have to stop the trade in these programs,” he explains. “Normal people can only solve this together. You can protect yourself a little individually. But we can only be really safe if we change the rules of the game.”
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